With the two stars basically reading their lines rather than acting them out, what could have scored a "10" here flows way down to just "good" rather than "excellent". The idea itself is excellent, a pre-"Three Faces of Eve"/"Lizzie" drama about an alleged split personality. Eric Fleming at some points is truly acting and at other parts, simply reciting his lines, as a psychiatrist who in the very first reel interferes on the police chase of a wanted murderer who threatens to jump off a roof until Fleming intervenes. It's Fleming's avant garde ways of dealing with various mental disorders that makes him a press darling, and that leads the pretty but bland Nancy Malone to come to see him in need of professional help. But he doesn't want to help her; He wants to date her. In their next scene, he is indeed counseling her, yet still anxious to get her to go out with him in spite of his claims that dating a patient is not a good moral thing for a psychiatrist to do. Today, his pursuit of her might stir up controversy and jeopardize his license, but for the mid 1950's, he seemingly gets away with it, even though part of her suspects dishonorable motives, although they are not obviously of a sexual nature.
Anne, as it turns out, is living the ghostly life of a long dead beauty, the Baroness Mary Vetsera, who had an affair with the married Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, aka "the Mayerling incident", which lead to the murder/suicide of both of them when his emperor father demanded that the lovers break off. The ghostly baroness continues to haunt Fleming, admitting her hatred for Anne and the fact that Fleming is seemingly in love with her, and when Anne/Mary disappears, the police suspect that Fleming has killed her out of unrequited love. Fleming takes the next step he needs in finding the missing Anne to cure her, but utilizing the incarcerated killer he coaxed off the roof to hypnotize him into thinking he's the crown prince, leading to a confrontation between the legal matters of the state prison, Fleming's desire to cure Anne, and Mary's desire to reconcile with her dead lover. It's a haunting story that is well written, but unfortunately weakly acted. It's apparently based upon a play, but I could not find any evidence of its existence. Still an interesting curio, it is interesting independent cinema that could have been a classic today had the leads had more of a spark than they do onscreen.
Anne, as it turns out, is living the ghostly life of a long dead beauty, the Baroness Mary Vetsera, who had an affair with the married Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, aka "the Mayerling incident", which lead to the murder/suicide of both of them when his emperor father demanded that the lovers break off. The ghostly baroness continues to haunt Fleming, admitting her hatred for Anne and the fact that Fleming is seemingly in love with her, and when Anne/Mary disappears, the police suspect that Fleming has killed her out of unrequited love. Fleming takes the next step he needs in finding the missing Anne to cure her, but utilizing the incarcerated killer he coaxed off the roof to hypnotize him into thinking he's the crown prince, leading to a confrontation between the legal matters of the state prison, Fleming's desire to cure Anne, and Mary's desire to reconcile with her dead lover. It's a haunting story that is well written, but unfortunately weakly acted. It's apparently based upon a play, but I could not find any evidence of its existence. Still an interesting curio, it is interesting independent cinema that could have been a classic today had the leads had more of a spark than they do onscreen.